Classmates.com is moving to Seattle

Classmates.com, which has been located in Renton for the past 13 years, will be moving its operations to Seattle next year in part to more easily attract software developers and other high-tech workers.

Classmates.com’s McArthur

The move is a blow to Renton, the industrial city on the south end of Lake Washington that has attempted to tout its image in recent years as an attractive destination for technology businesses.

The 239-person unit of United Online’s Classmates Media plans to take the top two floors in a new office building at 333 Elliott Avenue West. Seattle-based F5 Networks also has secured space in the building, which was developed by Martin Selig with expansive views of Puget Sound.

Steven McArthur, president of Classmates, is hopeful that the move will help with recruiting as the country’s third largest social networking site expands its offerings. He also said it made sense because a number of employees already live in Seattle.

“When we thought about the amenities and handiness for our employee base, as well as helping with our recruiting efforts going forward, when we saw the opportunity to be on Elliott we thought it very much met our needs,” he said.

In Renton, Classmates had run out of room at its location near the Ikea retail store. The 58,000-square-foot office in Seattle — which will include outdoor signage for Classmates — offers more flexible space in which to expand, said McArthur. He said there is “significant headroom” in which to grow, though he did not provide a specific number.

The company is working with staffers who live on the south end to make sure they don’t face a longer commute. Asked about the possibility of having two locations in the region, McArthur said that didn’t make as much sense for a company that relies on teams of engineers and marketers working together.

A Bellevue resident, McArthur understands the potential difficulties in commuting to Seattle from the suburbs. He admits that the commute could be harder for him and some of the other Eastside residents, noting that it all depends “what the 520 bridge is like and what its future is.”

But after looking at a number of locations throughout the region, McArthur said it made the most sense to take the “world-class space” in Seattle.

Classmates Media, which in addition to Classmates.com includes the MyPoints business, canceled plans for an initial public offering last December due to rocky market conditions.

Still, the business continues to grow with 15.1 million active accounts and revenue of $57 million during the second quarter. The company plans to go public at some point once the financial markets improve, said McArthur.

As to competition from fast-growing services such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, McArthur believes the company is well positioned because its audience is typically made up of people over the age of 35. That audience has different needs, Internet habits and has a “very different level of attractiveness to the advertising community,” said McArthur.